Madonna (L) introduces Russian punk rock band Pussy Riot members Nadezhda Tolokonnikova (R) and Maria Alyokhina during the Amnesty International benefit concert in the Brooklyn borough of New York February 5, 2014. (Reuters / Carlo Allegri) / Reuters

As Samantha Power met two released Pussy Riot members in New York, Russia’s Vitaly Churkin wondered if the US ambassador to the UN would join the controversial punk band and suggested a tour route. The jibe did not go unnoticed.

Power, a vocal proponent of American military interventions as a
solution to human rights abuses, met Nadezhda Tolokonnikova and
Maria Alyokhina on Wednesday as part of their tour of the US.

During the meeting at the US mission to the UN, Power and the two
band members discussed "the disturbing trend in [Russia] of
legislation, prosecutions and government actions aimed at
suppressing dissent and pressuring groups that advocate for
fundamental human rights and basic government
accountability," according to her deputy spokesman Kurtis
Cooper.

When asked about the meeting, Russian UN ambassador Churkin
joked, "She has not joined the band?"

"I would expect her to invite them to perform at the National
Cathedral in Washington," he said. "Maybe they could
arrange a world tour for them, you know."

"St. Peter's Cathedral in Rome, then maybe in Mecca in Saudi
Arabia, ending up with a gala concert at the Wailing Wall in
Jerusalem. So if Ambassador Power fell short I would be
disappointed," Churkin said.

Power responded on Twitter, saying she would be honored to join
Pussy Riot and invited Churkin to join in.

“I can't sing, but if #PussyRiot will have me, Amb Churkin, I
say our 1st concert is for Russia's pol. prisoners.
#LiveFromMatrosskayaTishina,” she tweeted in reference to one of Moscow’s
oldest prisons, which is currently used as a preliminary
detention center.

Tolokonnikova and Alyokhina are two of the three members of the
group who stood trial on hooliganism charges for their
performance at Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral in February
2012. The performance was conducted to produce footage for an
anti-government music video, which the band later published
online.

In August 2012, the three women were sentenced to two years each
for the offence, but later the term for the third member,
Ekaterina Samutsevich, was suspended by a court. Samutsevich is
not accompanying her former co-performers on their US tour.

The two honored Pussy Riot members were granted amnesty in
December 2013, a few months ahead of the end of their prison
terms. Following their release they said they want to be involved
in human rights activism and particularly in defending the rights
of prisoners in Russia.

Their Wednesday meeting with Ambassador Power was followed by a
visit to an all-star concert in the New York borough of Brooklyn,
where they were welcomed by their long-time supporter Madonna.